Another way to tackle unfamiliar words is to start a ‘concept card’ system, using index cards. When you meet a word which seems important, take a new card and write the word at the top, followed by any useful information you have found. File the cards alphabetically and add details as you come across new information. (It is worth getting an index card box anyway, then you can try out various ways of using it to organise your studies.)

This key skill has used a three-stage framework for developing your skills. By developing a strategy, monitoring your progress and evaluating your overall approach, you take an active role in your own learning. But learning does not necessarily follow a path of steady improvement, it involves change: revisiting ideas, seeing things from different perspectives, tackling things in different ways.

You are unlikely to be able to complete your work by working through it from beginning to end

In this , we describe the theory of evolution by natural selection as proposed by Charles Darwin in his book, first published in 1859, On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. We will look at natural selection as Darwin did, taking inheritance for granted, but ignoring the mechanisms underlying it.

This course is an introduction to chemistry concepts, using water as the main illustration. Much of the course is devoted to exploring the smallest water particle - a water molecule - what it is and how it gives rise to the particular properties of water. The course also explains powers of ten and scientific notation, which are a convenient way of expressing both very large and very small numbers. It is a good introduction to science.

Nature Matters considers environmental responsibility and what may matter from a caring perspective and an accountability perspective. A reading by Andrew Light reflects on four key debates in environmental ethics regarding the way in which nature is valued, and prompts the question on how such debates might inform environmental responsibility.

Section 2 examines the formal processes involved in developing accountability in the context of sustainable development. The persuasiveness of t

In Section 3.3 the point was made that many physiologists consider that desert birds are successful because of their avian physiology, not because of any specific adaptations. While Williams and Tieleman's research on hoopoe larks demonstrated that desert species are capable of flexibility in metabolic rate and evaporative water loss, it suggested that adaptation is important too. The selective advantages of lowered BMR and TEWL for desert birds include reduced energy demand, and lower produc

The energy carried by ocean waves derives from a proportion of the wind energy transferred to the ocean surface by frictional drag. So, ultimately it stems from the proportion of incoming solar energy that drives air movement. Just how much energy is carried by a single wave depends on the wind speed and the area of ocean surface that it crosses; wave height, wavelength, and therefore wave energy, are functions of the distance or fetch over which the wind blows. Not surprisingly the ma

Design This free course looks at the process of design, from assessing the complexity of design as an activity to exposing the difficulty in making general conclusions about how designers work. You will be able to identify innovation in a wide variety of designed objects and evaluate the impact of this innovation.
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‘Environment’ is one of the more popular words in the management lexicon, most generally understood to be referring to ‘something outside’. But common usage today often interprets the Environment (with or without the capital ‘E’) as referring to the planetary ecosystem. On that basis the Environment includes such things as global warming, the state of the ozone layer, deforestation and the means of energy generation. Organisations need to coexist with their environment, responding

Claiming connections: A distant world of sweatshops? Sweatshops and the exploitation of workers are often linked to the globalised production of ‘big brand’ labels. This unit examines how campaigners have successfully closed the distance between the brands and the sweatshops, while others argue that such production ‘kick starts’ economies into growth benefiting whole communities.Author(s): Creator not set

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Darwin Now Awards Janice Ansine is a recipient of a Darwin Now Award. She is currently working on a variety of projects in Jamaica, looking at contemporary responses to Darwin and Into the historic role of Jamaica in providing material for his research.Author(s): No creator set

This course looks at the history of institutions in the twentieth century, starting with a case study of Lennox Castle Hospital. It tries to make sense of the history of Lennox Castle, and of institutional life in general, through testimony of those who experienced institutions as inmates and as nurses, as well as through Erving Goffman's model of the ‘total institution’. It examines the social bases of segregation, the professionalisation of staff in asylums and institutions, and campaig

Reuters Today: Europe deal hands ECB watchdog role Dec. 13 - Europe reaches a deal to give the ECB new powers to oversee the bloc's banks. U.S. Fed says interest rates will stay near zero until unemployment falls to at least 6.5%, boosts monthly bond buying.Author(s): No creator set

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18.904 Seminar in Topology (MIT) This course is a seminar in topology. The main mathematical goal is to learn about the fundamental group, homology and cohomology. The main non-mathematical goal is to obtain experience giving math talks.

The architecture of refugee protection Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture 2012. Lecture by Professor Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (Co-Director of the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation)recorded on 7 November 2012 at the Oxford Museum of Natural History.Author(s): No creator set

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Big Avalanche on Mount Sefton! Mount Sefton in New Zealand has a high ice cliff across the East Face. When the ice moves it has nowhere to go but down! This video shows an avalanche falling down the side of the mountain. (01:14)Author(s): No creator set